Monday, April 22, 2013

Zebra Cupcakes

Do you ever have the feeling that all you do is Pin stuff from Pinterest but never actually TRY the recipes?

I sometimes do and I know that even though I have every intention of trying all the recipes I Pin that I'm lucky if a couple actually get made.

These Zebra Cupcakes & Cake are one of those I've seen all over Pinterest lately and I just had to try it.

The ones I've seen all call for "from scratch" cake batter and if you know me at all you know I LOVE boxed cake mix, so ya, that wasn't going to happen, lol.

I'll say it again. I don't see anything wrong with baking my cakes with a boxed cake mix. I actually think they are lighter and more moist then most from scratch recipes I've tried. And if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
So, needless to say I just "winged" this recipe and it turned out great!

Now keep in mind that I was making this for my son's birthday and wanted to make jumbo cupcakes because I found these awesome stand alone silicone ones at Cost Plus World Market and couldn't wait to use them.

If you only want one double 8 inch cake just use 1 cake mix (vanilla) and add some cocoa powder to half the batter to get your two flavors needed for this recipe.

Here's what you need:

1 box vanilla cake mix and the fixings to make the cake
1 box devils food cake mix and the fixings to make the cake
eggs, oil, and water on the back of the boxes
12 silicone cupcake liners, jumbo size or whichever size you would like
1- 9 inch cake pan

In a medium bowl beat the vanilla cake mix with the eggs, oil, and water needed to make the cake. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go. Set aside.

In another medium bowl beat the chocolate cake mix with the eggs, oil, and water needed to make the cake. I added a little bit extra water to thin out the chocolate cake mix because it was too thick. You need the cake mix to be a little thin so that it spreads correctly when added to the cupcake liners or cake pan.

Prepare the cupcake lines by lining them up on a baking sheet. If using tradition cupcake pans line each well with a paper liner and/or spray with cooking spray if desired. Also spray a 9 inch cake pan with cooking spray (if using the recipe like I did) and set aside.

Start by filling each liner with 1-2 Tablespoons of the vanilla batter. Then right in the middle of the vanilla plop the chocolate batter. Continue this vanilla/chocolate until the cupcake liners are 1/2 full with batter.

Next, fill the cake pan (or more cupcakes if you want) with the same vanilla/chocolate layering, remembering to plop the batter right in the middle of the pan and from then on right in the middle of each flavor. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to fill the cake pan.

Bake the cupcakes (Jumbo) for 22 - 24 minutes and the cake (9 inch) 20 - 23 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean they are done.

Remove the cupcakes and cake to a cooling rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting I use my No Fail Frosting which is perfect every time. You can also use your favorite canned frosting if you would like.